Matches to Make After UFC on Fox 6

Anthony Pettis made a case for his shot at the UFC lightweight
crown. | Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Roughly two years after he was promised a crack at lightweight gold
in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship, Anthony Pettis may have finally
forced his boss’ hand.

In another scintillating striking display, Pettis put away
Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts mainstay Donald Cerrone with a
first-round liver kick at
UFC on Fox 6 “Johnson vs. Dodson” on Saturday at the United
Center in Chicago. The gifted 26-year-old Roufusport representative
mowed down the “Cowboy” 2:35 into round one, likely cementing
himself as the next No. 1 contender at 155 pounds.

Cerrone spent the months and weeks leading up to their high-stakes
encounter bad mouthing the man they call “Showtime.” Pettis
responded with a devastating shin to the guts. Somewhere, UFC
lightweight champion Benson Henderson and his next challenger,
Gilbert Melendez, took notice.

Pettis has rattled off seven wins in eight fights, a decision loss
to Clay Guida in his promotional debut the lone misstep. More
importantly, the Duke Roufus protégé owns a victory over Henderson,
having defeated “Smooth” by unanimous decision at the final World
Extreme Cagefighting event in December 2010. Henderson and Melendez
will do battle at UFC on Fox
7 on April 20 in San Jose, Calif., and one has to believe the
winner will soon be standing across the Octagon from Pettis.

In the wake of UFC on Fox 6, here are seven other matchups that
ought to be made:

Demetrious Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez-Ian McCall
winner: Johnson is leaving quite a mark on the fledgling
flyweight division. “Mighty Mouse” survived a second-round
knockdown and defeated John Dodson by unanimous decision in the
main event, retaining his 125-pound title at the expense of “The
Ultimate Fighter” Season 14 winner. Johnson was stellar in the
championship rounds, where he employed the Thai plum to great
effect. Benavidez and McCall, both of whom have already dropped
decisions to the diminutive champion, will lock horns at UFC 156 on
Feb. 2 in Las Vegas.

D.
Mandel/Sherdog.com

Dodson came close against Mighty Mouse.

Ricardo Lamas vs. Jose Aldo-Frankie Edgar winner:
Lamas’ resume speaks for itself, as the 30-year-old Chicagoan has
recorded consecutive victories over Matt Grice, Cub Swanson, Hatsu
Hioki and Erik Koch since joining the UFC as part of the
WEC merger in 2010. In his latest outing, Lamas sliced and
diced the highly touted Koch, finishing the
Roufusport product with a series of savage second-round elbows.
Aldo will defend his 145-pound crown against Edgar in the UFC
156 main event on Feb. 2, with Lamas poised to meet the
winner.

John Dodson vs. Benavidez-McCall loser: Dodson
fell short in his bid to unseat Johnson as the world’s top
flyweight, but he likely improved his stock in the process. The
gifted Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts export performed well in early
exchanges, dropping the elusive “Mighty Mouse” to his knees with a
left hand in the first round before flooring him with another in
the second. In the end, Dodson succumbed to the champion’s
relentless pace, as he faded down the stretch and surrendered a
unanimous decision. Benavidez and McCall will toe the line against
one another at UFC 156 in another anticipated meeting between two
of the 125-pound division’s elite.

Glover Teixeira vs. Alexander Gustafsson-Gegard Mousasi
winner: Teixeira may not have delivered the crowd-pleasing
victory for which he had hoped, but a win over former champion
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson still means something, no matter how one
procures it. The 33-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt cracked
Jackson with repeated left hooks and struck for six takedowns, as
he pushed his winning streak to 18 bouts and secured a seat at the
Top 10 table at 205 pounds. Gustafsson and Mousasi will square off
in the
UFC on Fuel TV 9 headliner on April 6 in Sweden.

Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon: Cerrone navigated
the first 25 fights of his professional mixed martial arts career
without being knocked out, but his good fortune failed him as soon
as Pettis’ shin slammed into his side midway through the first
round of their 155-pound scrap. The knockout defeat halted
Cerrone’s modest two-fight winning streak and sent him tumbling
down the lightweight ladder. Lauzon left his
UFC 155 encounter with Jim Miller beaten, bloodied and scarred,
but he remains one of the promotion’s most popular characters and
fiercest competitors.

Clay Guida vs. Nik Lentz: Guida escaped his first
dip in featherweight waters with a controversial split decision
over former Sengoku champion Hatsu Hioki. He paired a steady diet
of takedowns with a heavy top game, overshadowing the excellent
work the Japanese star did from his back. Hioki also out-landed
Guida in terms of both significant strikes and total strikes. Lentz
has looked like a new man since he made his move to the 145-pound
division, rattling off wins against Eiji Mitsuoka at UFC 150 and
Diego Nunes at UFC on FX 7.

T.J. Grant vs. Edson Barboza: Perhaps no fighter
gained more from the UFC on Fox 6 experience than Grant, who wiped
out the durable Matt Wiman with a series of standing elbows.
Undefeated since dropping to 155 pounds, the bearded Canadian has
quietly moved towards the Top 10 with victories over Wiman, Evan
Dunham, Carlo Prater and Shane Roller. Barboza, still one of the
lightweight division’s most intriguing talents, bounced back from
his first career setback to strike the previously unbeaten Lucas
Martins into submission at
UFC on FX 7 on Jan. 19.